Governor Jerry Brown recently signed Assembly Bill 1793 that passed almost unanimously by the state legislature in August. This bill will require the state to identify every individual convicted of a nonviolent cannabis offense and automatically reduce their sentence or clear their criminal record entirely.

“Proposition 64, the voter-approved measure that legalized recreational cannabis in the Golden State in 2016, allowed any Californian who had been convicted of a weed-related felony or misdemeanor to petition to have their conviction reduced or expunged.”

Unfortunately, this new law required those convicted of a weed-related felony or misdemeanor to petition to have their conviction reduced or erased, and this process put many low-income individuals out of the running for this benefit due to the costs involved. District attorneys from San Francisco, San Diego, and several other towns and counties announced that they would identify and clear these records themselves, but officials in other jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, complained of not having the resources to accomplish such an effort. Rob Bonta proposed Assembly Bill 1793 to help people realize their rights and get their lives back by streamlining the process.

Bonta said. “Long after paying their debt to society, people shouldn’t continue to face the collateral consequences, like being denied a job or housing, because they have an outdated conviction on their records.”

The new law, which goes into effect on January 1st, 2019, will require the state Department of Justice to search its criminal records database and identify every individual with a cannabis-related felony or misdemeanor conviction.

Zefyr supports the fair and equal treatment of cannabis offenders in the U.S. Bonta should be proud of this accomplishment. The people that benefit from his efforts will be able to move their lives forward without the past haunting them quickly.